There have been many moments in my life when I have strived to be noticed. I could imagine myself with a huge platform, with many listening to what I would say. But such vain illusions have nothing to do with kingdom thinking. Just like the argumentative disciples, they wanted to be great. Celebrities for Jesus! I wonder if we have those thoughts circulating today. But the kingdom is upside down living compared to all the elbowing and back scratching that happens in our world.
“We want immediacy. Metrics. Miracles on demand.
Jesus says, seed.
And that offends us. Because it requires patience. Because it forces us to admit we are not in control. Because it reminds us that we are not the cause of the harvest, only witnesses to it.
You do not measure a tree by the hour. You do not evaluate roots by Instagram likes. The kingdom of God does not bloom on our schedule.
And yet, it grows.
There are conversions happening right now you will never know about. There are sermons bearing fruit you will never see. There are children who will remember what you said in Sunday school, not today, but in the moment they need it most, twenty years from now.” - Rich Bitterman
“Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?
Please help me to gradually open my hands
and to discover that I am not what I own,
but what you want to give me.” - Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life
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